Life was good for the Petersburg PORTA/A-C High School boys basketball team in the first half of Tuesday night's Class 2A Springfield Supersectional at the University of Illinois Springfield. The hot-shooting Bluejays led by 17 points at halftime and by 18 early in the third quarter.

But given PORTA'S pressure-packed march through the postseason, it wouldn't have seemed right if the Jays had just cruised to Peoria.

So after Paris caught fire in the third quarter and cut the deficit to three twice in the final period, PORTA prevailed in another stare-down. And this one ended their 41-year absence from state basketball's big stage.

“I wish we'd made a few more free throws down the stretch and put it away sooner,” said PORTA coach Nick Rathgeb after his team finally put away the Tigers 58-49 in front of packed house at TRAC.

“Once (Paris) pulled a little bit closer, it was like we said, ‘OK, now we'll focus.' We did that and we finished them off.”

On target

In the face of Paris' second-half challenge, PORTA went 6-for-7 from the field on the fourth quarter and, after missing its first four free throws in the period, made six of its last seven to win its 10th straight game and climb to 26-5.

PORTA, in its third year as a co-op with Ashland A-C Central, will make its first state appearance since 1973 when the Jays face Nashville (26-7) in a state semifinal at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Peoria.

Paris, bidding for its first state trip since 1971, closed at 21-10.

PORTA, which won three of its first four postseason games by an average of 4.7 points, was 12-for-21 from the field in the first half — including 5-for-9 from 3-point range against Paris' zone. The Jays led 33-16 at intermission and 36-18 on a Matt Muller 3-pointer early in the third.

But Rathgeb knew there was a lot of time left.

“At halftime, I said, ‘This is a supersectional game,'” Rathgeb said. “'Don't think for a second that they're just going to lay over.'

“They came out, and we missed some shots, some little bunnies, where we couldn't buy a basket. But a lot of it had to do with Paris. They really stepped up the pressure. You have to credit how they responded.”

With 6-foot-3 Riley Spencer going 5-for-5 from the field, mostly from close range, in the third quarter, Paris ran off 14 straight points to get within 40-36 entering the final period.

PORTA's Matt McCurdy ended the run with a rebound basket to start the fourth, but a 3-pointer by Paris' Logan McDaniel cut it to 42-39.

Page 2 of 2 - Did the Bluejays' crunch-time mentality sink in?

“I think so,” McCurdy said. “In that first half, we were hitting every shot, and then we had a cold streak in the third quarter.

“But some of us stepped up and hit some shots to extend the lead a little when they got within three or four, and it just went on from there.”

The Tigers' shooting cooled off in the fourth quarter, and after a rebound basket by McCurdy, Nic Sinclair came up with a steal and fast-break basket for a 52-44 lead with 2:37 left.

The Jays' brief free-throw struggles opened the door for Paris once more, and the Tigers' Hunter Morris scored to cut it to 52-49 with 1:10 left. After another missed free throw, Morris got an offensive rebound that was stripped from his hands by Matt Muller, who was fouled.

In the double bonus, Muller made 1 of 2 charities for a four-point lead with just 47.3 seconds left. Sinclair eventually made 5 of 6 charities in the final 36 seconds to put it away.

“We finally made some free throws, and we won the game,” Sinclair said. “I think we all came through pretty well down the stretch.”

Matt Muller finished with 15 points to lead PORTA, followed by Nate Hopper with 13 (11 in the first half) and Sinclair with 12. Senior guard Austin Temples led Paris with 15 points, followed by Spencer with 14.

“They understand team basketball, and that showed tonight,” Paris coach Shawn Nugent said of the Bluejays. “They would work the ball around on us, and I don't know of any bad shots they really took the whole game.

“If you do that, you're going to be OK.”

State tickets

Tickets for Friday night's state tournament game in Peoria will be sold in advance at PORTA and A-C Central on Wednesday. Details are available at www.porta202.org.